Ingen
The Jade Empire of Ingen is an old nation stretching back hundreds of centuries. It is a founding member of the renowned Laptev Axis, and officals from Ingen have served as Legislators and Intelligence Ministers in several factions including the ULN, NAI, Directorate and ACSE among others. The Empire is famous for being one of the few nations to actively breed and domesticate dinosaurs. Indeed, it was originally known simply as the 'Dinosaur Shogunate'. Ingen remains an absolute monarchy, with elements of feudalism, socialism and state mercantilism, but is known to be incredibly tolerant of nations with differing political and social attitudes. 'CULTURE' Ingen is predominantly similar to 1800's Japan, with feudal Samurai hierachy mixing with international and even intergalactic trade and culture. Domesticated dinosaurs are commonplace, and feature heavily in Ingenious culture, art and mythology. Ingen is highly interracial, with many Felidaens, Imaginariumese, Technovikings, and even Katasians and Eliphantidaens wandering the streets. However, religious freedom is almost unheard of, with all citizens expected to adhere to the quaint customs and rites of Ingenious life, though there is no central deity in this belief system. Any other organised religion is firmly banned, with the exception of the TechnoViking Rave Thing, a dark and mysterious collection of pagan beliefs and sects which lends the TechnoVikings their strength, fortitude and bloodlust. Architecture is kept strictly in check, with only aesthetically pleasing and conforming buildings being created. Even military complexes and spaceports are forced to conform at least in part to these demands, meaning that Ingenious landscape is not prone to the unpleasant industrialisation of other nations, at least on the surface. Temples and wooden huts are the order of the day, though stone is often used and considerations are made depending on climate and the like, especially on Novusata. Felidaen areas tend to be more Spanish Colonial Revival style architecture, whilst TechnoVikings are much more fond of longhouses, large log halls and 'unterhausen', houses that are entirely underground except for the roof and loft, with a staircase leading down from ground level to the front door. 'HISTORY' Ingen was once an area known as the Rus, home to some of the earliest human settlements recorded on Laptev. For a long time indeed it was nothing of note, but it is well known that an original 'Jade Empire' did indeed exist at some point around 700BCE. This had collapsed by the time the Imperium Romanum had brought civilisation to other parts of Laptev, however, and all that was left was one tiny state, the Dinosaur Shogunate, which remained dormant for centuries. Emergence Almost twenty years ago, the Shogun of the time, Kuribayashi, brought the Shogunate into the modern world. They fared well in their initial encounters, proving to be a pivotal force in the West Sarmenian conflict, cementing their age-old alliance with the Katasians and forging an entirely new one with Ystovia. It was around this time that Felidaens first started immigrating to the Shogunate, but only in small numbers. Imperial Ascendance A rebellion by the TechnoVikings, coupled with the emergence of a nationalist movement led by a false claimant to the throne, was harshly put down by the Shogunate with the aid of the Katasian Deathwatch. As a result, the TechnoVikings were exiled and Kuribayashi took the Jade Throne for himself, restoring the age-old Empire of Ingen. Saurian Crisis This was the accidental mutation of many Ingenious humans into Saurian humanoids through the bungling of one Professor Hammond. It was mostly an aesthetic difference, but was eventually resolved. To this day, some chose to remain Saurian, whilst other Saurians have emigrated to Katasia. The Axis Together with Ystovia and Katasia, the newly-formed Empire banded together to create the first Laptev Axis. These three nations quickly rose to dominance, destroying Laptev Kuntree, Laptev Osean Federation and several other nations, whilst attracting many more to their cause. Most notable amongst these was Imaginarium, a stalwart member of the Axis to this day. RevoMed was annexed, but quickly proved to be unsuitable and was destroyed. North Regnium was invaded twice and graciously provided the Axis with land to build their new fortress. Around this period the Axis entered a gentler phase, renaming to the Coalition and halting its unstoppable expansion. Collapse of the Empire A cure for the Saurian 'disease' was discovered by Laptev Krakohzian scientists around this time. Unfortunately, it became widely believe that Emperor Kuribayashi and his court had known of this and had deliberately withheld it. A mass revolution began, and Kuribayashi withdrew amongst the chaos, leaving his trusted head of the ninjitsu, Avery Johnson, who had first distinguished herself during the West Sarmenian crisis at the age of 16. The rebel nation quickly formed into a radical democratic federal state named Granbretan, led by six Strategoi who were democratically elected every six months. They were led by a man named Ariminius, and during this time they were prosperous, peaceful and uneventful. However, a Duke from Tenochlitan, unknown except for his title, the "Golden One", through trickery and murder managed to seize power with popular support, and soon went mad. He declared the creation of a Bretannish Empire, and promptly invaded Imperium Romanum and other nations, overstretching his already fractured armies resulting in such atrocities as the Massacre at Igli, in which the entire Granbretanian Sunna Legion, almost a half million people, was slaughtered on the border between Bretan and Krakohzia. Abomination Wars A race of disturbing, mutant cyborgs originally engineered in Imaginarium seized power across the planet at this point, aided considerably by the Golden One's defection to the Cyber cause. He became known as the Goldstein, and in the ensuing chaos many nations were utterly destroyed, leaving Laptev a war-torn ruin. However, Kuribayashi himself returned from exile, declared the rebirth of the Jade Empire and led the members of the old Axis to destroy the Cyber nations using their only known weakness: gold dust. At that point, the Laptev Axis reformed and assumed total control of the planet, and indeed the solar system. Expansion The Laptev Axis finally settled into its current format, with Ingen, Katasia, Ystovia, Imaginarium, Dong Wu, UPEO, Jamesistan and San Alejandro all calling the planet home. The Jade Empire in particular took to spacefaring, leaving the ULN and spending time with the Jedi, participating in the Kisnik War and establishing the East Ingen Company, a stellar trading company. They discovered the planet of Novusata and re-incorporated the TechnoVikings into the Empire, and came into contact with Greater Kuntree. Eventually the Empire wound up with its longtime allies in the Directorate faction, a small group of familiar nations with no real aim. ;) Kuntrian Wars Seeing the might of the Ingenious armies and being envious, Supreme Counselor Lyne of Greater Kuntree invaded the Jade Empire. At this time, his armies outnumbered the Jade Empire 3 to 1, but the Emperor, being proud and capricious, chose to duel nation to nation. Clever use of the stasis field allowed the Empire to bring the Kuntrian invasion force to its knees using medieval warfare, but the retreating Kuntrians attempted to use WMD's to exact vengance as they fled. They failed, but their attempt infuriated the other members of the Axis. Kuntree threatened to invade Laptev and to assault the Directorate using the forces of the NAI, an inactive faction which the Supreme Leader had openly seized command of and was using for his own nefarious ends. Kuribayashi promptly founded the Galactic Alliance to counter this threat, and along with reinforcements led by Qaestor Ching of the New Free Planets Alliance, the Galactic Alliance began an orbital bombardment of Kuntree. Imperial of India assisted Ingen in the liberation of Kuntree's vassal states, whilst the Great Houses of Xie captured Mercior III and was gifted Sona Dova by the Emperor as thanks for their help. Ingen itself took Laos II and incorporated it into the Empire, and within one week of the Counselors threat to invade Ingen a second time, Kuntree had been utterly destroyed. Vong Wars Around the time of the Kuntrian Wars, Ingenious spacefleets under Admiral Cornewaille discovered a new alien xenos. Initial contact was decidely hostile, and a multi-national effort to destroy the alien force ended in a phyrric victory for the alien invaders after the United Pokemon Type Leader Darkrai nobly sacrificed himself in a vain attempt to destroy them all. The Vong concentrated their efforts on the UPT and Ingen after that, the effects of which still rumble on to this day. With regards to Ingen, although Laos II was briefly invaded and occupied defenders under Volund the Mighty and Khan of the Felidaens managed to push the enemy back and secure the Empire once more. However, it is almost certain that the Vong still lie in wait out there amongst the stars somewhere...as Cornewaille famously remarked upon first contact with them, They Cannot Be Stopped. Trek Wars Sometime later, a small nation known as Treksylvania began hostilities with the age-old allies of Ingen, known as Zlost and Levant Al Asad. Though Ingen normally left these two superpowers to it, a collapse of friendly negotiations between Treksylvania and Ingen led to the Galactic Alliance invading and bombarding Treksylvania, whose Emperor was captured and brutally executed. However, the population survived, and founded Holy Trek. Relations with this new nation have been more or less normalised, other than a brief skirmish over Yee and Gotham territorial rights which ended in a Galactic Alliance victory. Chapter Disaster The Emperor decreed that a new branch of superhuman marines be created, with the newest technologies and abilities, to act as the forefront of the Imperial military. However, shortly after their inception, a Chapter went rogue and began antagonising other nations, notably with the 'Weapons Free' incident which resulted in several Ish'Cong vessels and a Katasian OSL being destroyed by friendly fire. As the Emperor reprimanded his Chapter Masters during a council, they openly defied him, leading to a brief civil war which saw most of the Chapters destroyed, with some fleeing into the distance. The fallout from this event is still reverberating, with the capital ship Brammer currently engaged in destroying one escaped renegade legion, the Iron Avengers, whilst a Jade Battlegroup under Admiral Kathutet and Capitan Botas is busy in a rescue attempt, of EIC personnel kidnapped by Thenion's Immaculate Kin in retaliation for Kin losses during the 'Weapons Free' incident.